Oklahoma Laws on Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals

Under Oklahoma law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities have the right to be accompanied by their service animals in restaurants, hotels, stores, theaters, and other places that are open to the public.

The ADA covers people with all types of disabilities, including those who use psychiatric service animals (which are different than emotional support animals). Oklahoma's service animal law is more limited. It covers only those who are blind, are deaf or hard of hearing, or have another physical disability. But businesses and other public accommodations in Oklahoma must comply with both state and federal law.

Read on to learn which public accommodations the ADA and state law cover and which animals qualify as service animals. We'll also review the rules about having emotional support animals in rental housing.

What Counts as a Public Accommodation in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma law gives people with physical disabilities the right to bring their service dogs into all public accommodations, including all:

• streets, highways, sidewalks, and walkways
• modes of transportation, including cars, buses, and trains
• motels, hotels, and other lodging places
• college dormitories and other educational facilities
• restaurants and other places where food is sold, and
• places of public amusement, such as gyms, parks, and stadiums.

Under the ADA, the definition of public accommodations is also very comprehensive and includes all public places. That includes private entities whose operations affect commerce. (42 U.S.C. § 12181(7).)

Private clubs. Private clubs aren't covered by the ADA if they:

• are member-controlled nonprofit groups that are highly selective
• charge substantial membership fees, and
• weren't created to avoid compliance with civil rights laws.

But a private club that makes facilities available to nonmembers is subject to the ADA's public accommodation rules in those facilities.

Churches and temples. The ADA doesn't treat religious entities, such as churches, synagogues, and mosques, as public accommodations. They're exempt from the law like some private clubs, even for religious organizations that offer secular services, such as a day-care center that admits children who aren't members.

Which Animals Are Covered as Service Animals in Oklahoma?

Under the ADA, a service animal is a dog individually trained to perform tasks or do work for the benefit of a person with a disability. The tasks or work the animal does must be directly related to the person's disability. (28 C.F.R. § 36.104.) In some cases, a miniature horse can also qualify as a service animal.

Here are some examples of service animals that must be allowed into public accommodations under the ADA, along with the tasks that they may be trained to do.

Oklahoma law applies only to guide, signal, or service dogs who assist those who are blind, deaf or hard of hearing, or otherwise physically disabled. Under state law, a service dog must be individually trained to a physically disabled person's requirements. The state law doesn't cover other types of animals, nor dogs who assist those with other types of disabilities, such as psychiatric or other mental disabilities. (Okla. Stat. tit. 7, § 19.1.)

But Oklahoma businesses still must comply with the ADA, which applies to more types of disabilities.

Does Oklahoma Allow Emotional Support Animals in Public Places?

Neither the ADA's nor Oklahoma's public accommodations law covers emotional support animals (ESAs). ESAs are animals whose presence provides a sense of safety, companionship, and comfort to those with psychiatric or emotional conditions.

Although emotional support animals often have therapeutic benefits, they're not individually trained to perform specific tasks for people with disabilities and so don't meet the definition of service animals in Oklahoma. State and federal public accommodation laws treat ESAs as pets, which aren't covered by these laws.

However, federal housing law does treat emotional support animals as assistance animals that may need to be accommodated (more on this below).

Public Accommodation Rules for Your Service Animal

Under the ADA, a public accommodation can't ask you about your disability or demand to see certification, identification, or other proof of your service animal's training or status. If it isn't apparent what your service animal does, the establishment can ask only two things:

• whether it's a service animal, and
• what tasks it performs for you.

Oklahoma law states that signal dogs (those that assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing) must wear an identifying orange collar. (Okla. Stat. tit. 7, § 19.1(C).) Other types of service dogs do not need to wear special vests or harnesses.

The ADA and Oklahoma law prohibit public accommodations from charging a special admission fee or requiring you to pay any other extra cost to have your service animal with you. But you might have to pay for any damage your animal causes.

Finally, the ADA allows a public accommodation to exclude your service animal if it poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others. For example, a facility can ask you to remove a service dog that's aggressively barking and snapping at other customers. Your animal can also be excluded if it isn't housebroken, or it's out of control and you're unable to effectively control it. (28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(2).)

Service Animals and ESAs in Oklahoma Housing

Oklahoma's landlord-tenant laws prohibit landlords from ending a rental arrangement or refusing to enter into one with a tenant who is blind, deaf, or otherwise physically disabled because the tenant uses a guide dog, signal dog, or service dog. There's an exception for tenancies that began before November 1, 1985. (Okla. Stat. tit. 41 § 113.1.)

Likewise, the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in housing accommodations against those who use "assistance animals." (People with disabilities must be allowed full and equal access to all housing facilities.) But Oklahoma's housing laws also cover both service animals and ESAs. (Okla. Stat. tit. 41 § 113.2(A).)

Federal Rules Allowing ESAs in Housing

The federal Fair Housing Act requires housing facilities to allow an emotional support animal if having one is necessary for a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the home. Under the FHA, assistance animals include service dogs and emotional support animals like cats and rabbits.

To fall under state and federal housing rights protections, you must have a disability and a disability-related need for the animal. In other words, to qualify as an assistance animal, your animal must perform tasks or services or simply alleviate the emotional effects of your disability.

What Questions Can a Landlord Ask?

Unlike the ADA's public accommodations protections, the FHA and Oklahoma housing law allow a landlord to ask for certification of your need for the assistance animal, but only if it's not apparent. So, your landlord can ask for a letter from your health care provider verifying your need for an emotional support cat, but can't ask a blind tenant to prove the need for a guide dog.

Can the Landlord Charge More for an ESA?

Under the FHA, a housing provider can't charge you extra for having a service animal or emotional support animal (although you might have to pay for damage your animal causes). If your lease or rental agreement includes a "no pets" provision, it doesn't apply to your assistance animal.

For more guidance on service animals and ESAs in housing, see the Department of Housing and Urban Development's assistance animals page at HUD.gov.